An Amazing Correlation: The Voyages of Christopher
Columbus and Apollo 13

Jerry Woodfill, Apollo 13 Mission
Warning System Engineer

An
invitation from the Houston Power Squadron, a club of nautical enthusiasts, led
to these correlations, or, perhaps, a better term would be “revelations.”
Their request for my oft told account of Apollo 13’s rescue reminded
me: Once, I had hoped that Santa Maria’s replica would become a
museum piece for the NASA area. “What a historic dream exhibit that would have
been - Santa Maria moored a stone’s throw from the final resting place
of moon ship AMERICA, at Space Center Houston!” Apollo 17’s AMERICA was
named after ship Santa Maria’s discovery. Additionally, the
last ship to carry men to that new celestial world, the Moon, identified with Santa
Maria, the first vessel to carry Columbus’s crew to the terrestrial New
World we call home.

First of
all, the ocean of space and the vast ocean Columbus sailed held much in common.
Certainly the magnitudes of their voyages were similar when transportation modes
of their eras are compared. For example, navigating the Santa Maria
about the coastline of Europe, Africa, even to the Canaries or Azores, was a
magnitude less challenging than crossing the Atlantic. Should a rudder snap, a storm
arise, or a mast fracture returning to port was doable. Similarly, the likes
of John Glenn and those original seven Earth-orbiting astronauts were only a
retro fire away from a safe return to Earth harbor. Not so, for Jim Lovell and
Apollo 13 on that 1970 journey to the new world of the Moon.

Comparing these
two paths of discovery and events recorded in their logs show how very
similar the ventures were. Though a half millennium apart, one might simply
exchange the names of the vessels and commanders. The stories of peril which
threatened defeat both ended victoriously. Furthermore, each journey’s
isolation from civilization made both ventures notable in the annals of
history. Indeed, each vessel faced the vicissitudes of fate. Specifically…

Coincidentally, the journeys launched from
latitude 28 degrees North. For Apollo 13, this was Cape Kennedy and for Columbus,
it was the Canary Islands. Additionally, each scribed a “figure-eight” in the
oceans of Earth and space. Even the names of major players coincided:
Christopher Columbus and NASA’s Christopher Columbus Kraft played lead roles in
the respective voyages. In fact, the Apollo 13 flight controllers used
the combination “1492” to access their private rest area. Also, the journeys were
to new worlds, North America and the Moon. And, of course, both embarked
from the oldworld, Europe and planet Earth.

In each voyage, the
destruction of the command ship came at an optimum place and time. This made the
ultimate rescues and returns possible. For Apollo 13, the lunar module
(LM or lander) remained attached ito the command ship in its route to the
Moon. The Santa Maria’s sinkingoccurred on Christmas Day
of 1492 months after the October 12th landfall in the New World. The vessel
was moored near shore at the time, a fortuitous loss. Had the Santa Maria
sunk in the ocean storm, perhaps, as the result of a storm, the saving of
Columbus and the crew of Santa Maria would be in doubt.

In both instances,
a rescue ship, i.e., lifeboat, was employed for the long journey home. Apollo
13’s lunar lander served that purpose while Columbus’s Nina became
the rescue craft for the homeward voyage. Note the similarities of the rescue
vessels: the agile caravel Nina with its triangular lateen rigging, and
the lunar lander. Compared to their respective damaged flagships, the Command
Module and Santa Maria, the rescue vessels were more modest in crew size
so that ingenuity was called forth. For Columbus, this meant leaving
approximately 39 crewmen at Navidad. Santa Maria’s stores and
timbers would launch the first colony in the New World while supplies aboard
the lunar lander promised the possibility of making it home. The lunar lander
must carry three men on a four day journey to Earth though designed for two
men for two days use on the Moon. (Incidentally, both vessels were
manufactured similarly through the process of “hewing” wood and metal rather
than machine stamping parts.)

Note the
importance of prayer on the ultimate success of each voyage. After Apollo
13’s explosion, a Congressional edict urged that the nation pray for the
crew’s rescue. Columbus embarked from the old world with the traditional
prayers of the mariner, likewise, he initiated each day with prayers for safety
and success. Additionally, when the disaster of Santa Maria’s
sinking had been realized, Columbus saw the act as a work of Providence. Santa
Maria’s stores and timbers would provide for a colony and fort.
Should he be able to return to Spain, the ensuing voyage back to Navidad
would find a thriving colony at work, perhaps, with gold and silver found in
the ensuing months.

Columbus invoking
Scripture and prayer, commanding a storm to cease

Popular Movie
Depict Both Voyages in Detail

Because of 1992’s
emphasis on the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage, a movie
featuring a detailed account was released. Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
featured Marlon Brando, Tom Selleck, George Corraface and Rachel Ward.
Despite some liberties taken by the film, the general historic account remained
in tact. Especially accurate was the attention given to Columbus as a man of
Christian faith, even to the acknowledging of spirit-led “knowings” only
explained as the voice of God.

Likewise, the
rescue of Apollo 13 found favor with Hollywood on the 25th
anniversary of the successful rescue. Apollo 13, featuring actor Tom
Hanks as Commander Jim Lovell and directed by Ron Howard, proved quite
accurate. Much of its technical content was based on Commander Jim Lovell’s
book Lost Moon (later renamed Apollo 13). Additionally, expert
former NASA flight controllers and engineers contributed to the authentic
depiction of the rescue. Of course, as with Columbus, Apollo 13
took an occasional liberty for creative license’s sake.

For parents, a
caution: Apollo 13 is fraught with cursing and one especially inappropriate
scene at the onset (which was fictional) while Columbus, though devoid
of inappropriate language, has considerable frontal nudity (in the National
Geographic sense) in its latter scenes.

Remarkably,
Columbus and Jim Lovell had been navigators aboard their previous missions
about the oceans of Earth and space. Columbus was much sought after by captains
sailing the eastern Atlantic, and Lovell had navigated Apollo 8, to the Moon
and back in December of 1968.

And both men later
became Commanders of their respective vessels. Of course, both Columbus’s New
World Voyage and Lovell’s Apollo 13 depended on navigation for success. While Columbus’s
use of the stars has been debated, it is believed the Admiral was well able to
ascertain latitude by virtue of North Star sightings using a quadrant. Furthermore,
his use of an onboard compass provided direction orientation. He entered such
data in his log book. Based on these and estimates of speed per half hour
increments, he employed “dead reckoning navigation” to determine distance
traveled and location.

Columbus
had the option of using either the North Star or his compass to direct his
journey west. Thinking both compass North and North Star North were identical
directions, it appears he used the compass on the outbound journey. This deviated
his route slightly south due to the location of magnetic north slightly to the
southwest of North Star determinations. Such use of the compass was fortuitous
bringing landfall days earlier and reducing the trip by as much as 400 miles.

The Apollo 13
astronauts lost the ability to sight the North Star or any stars as was their
navigational custom. The enshrouding refuse from the exploded tank reflected
sunlight into their sextant making star sightings impossible. To compensate,
they employed a celestial adaptation of “dead reckoning” navigation.

(Note: The log was
added later, Columbus used seaweed and other floating items to judge speed.)

Firing the lander’s
engine in the shown orientation effected a “retrograde burn” which compensated
for the “shallowing” reentry angle. Likewise, Apollo 13’s crew used an adapted
form of the “dead reckoning” technique for a course correction. An Omega
watch was used instead of the half-hour ampolleta (sand-clock). They
held course with a telescope sighting the Earth’s terminator instead of a
compass. Lastly, they actuated hand controllers to fire thrusters rather than
turning a ship’s tiller/helm to control their craft’s rudder. Incidentally,
the tiller and Apollo TTCA are hand activated. As Columbus neared the Old World,
the night sky cleared sufficiently for a quadrant sighting of the North Star,
however, the pitch, roll, and yawing of the Nina made its accuracy
doubtful. Yet, amazingly, Columbus judged Polaris’ angle above to be
approximately 37 degrees which would place Nina near the latitude of the
Azore Islands…remarkable without the use of a stable quadrant sighting! Some
attribute this navigated knowing to divine guidance.

Storms Threaten
Apollo 13 and Columbus at Voyage’s End

Columbus
approached the Azore Islands in the final days of the voyage home. Then and
there, the Nina began to battle fierce seaborne cyclones, storms and
gales, approaching hurricane force winds. In the above picture, note the cyclone/water
spout in the distance and imaginary sea monster dwelling among the enormous
waves. Again, Columbus calls upon his faith in his Lord and Savior, making
vows, fasting and praying for three days until the storm lifted.

Shortly afterward,
yet another storm called for prayer: the miraculous answer was the discovery of
a small “foresail” stowed aboard Nina. Additionally, the Lord’s favor
provides a full moon’s light to avoid the fatal shoals. The sail was barely able
to guide the bare-masted Nina past the deadly rocks and shoals. Because
only that single sail remained, the rest in tattered shreds, Nina
arrived at safe harbor.

It is in that
final storm that Providence was evident. Columbus concedes, “The Nina was very
staunch and well found such that in another vessel, I would have been afraid of
being lost.” That other vessel would have been, of course, the Santa Maria.
Likewise, Apollo 13 without the other ship, the lunar lander would have
been lost. In fact, Jim Lovell’s earlier trip to orbit the Moon, Apollo 8,
had no lander. Should the Command ship’s oxygen tank exploded on Apollo 8,
all would have been lost.

Again, there are remarkable
correlations between Nina and Apollo 13’s final approach to their
respective Old Worlds, Europe and Earth A mysterious breeze (space is
airless, i.e., a virtual vacuum) was blowing the spacecraft assemblage above
Earth requiring a mid-course correction. Small rocket thrusters corrected the
drift just hours before entry. Nevertheless, the point of no return was
imminent when adjustment would be impossible, so that the question had to be
answered: Would the breeze would continue or cease? Selecting the wrong option,
likely, would be fatal. ( Days later, the cause was found: the lunar lander’s
water boiler cooling system giving off vapor acted like a wind.) Just as
Columbus and his crew had prayed, Earth’s peoples were praying for Apollo
13’s crew.

Here arises another
interesting correlation: It is believed that the only celestial sighting Columbus
recorded in his log was shortly before reaching landfall in the Azores. Though
flawed by rough seas, the quadrant sighting of star Polaris was made through a
clear night sky. In similar fashion, Apollo 13’s first celestial sighting of a
star, after the explosion, came just before landfall. Separated from the
refuse of the ruptured service module, the crew was able to sight the star Aquila,
the Eagle. This confirmed the Earth terminator “dead reckoning” method used
earlier.

Hurricane
Helen Retro Officer

In some respects,
the course of typhoon Helen which threatened Apollo 13’s splashdown
was less predictable than the final storms Columbus battled. Weathermen
advised the retro to move the splashdown point elsewhere, but, like Columbus,
an inner voice, assured the retro that not only would that inexplicable breeze
cease but also, he should ignore the weathermen’s prediction.

The Nina
required heavy ballast to maintain stability in rough seas such that the crew
filled caskets with water in the bowels of the ship. It was not certain such
would provide sufficient mass to steady the keel through rough seas. Apollo
13 employed gyros to steady the capsule through the path to Earth, but they
required a day’s warming for accuracy. Electrical limitations permitted but a
few hours of heating so that, like Nina’s water caskets, the gyros might
not steady Apollo 13’s keel sufficiently to survive reentry.

And so the final
scene played out for both explorers, Christopher Columbus and Jim Lovell.
After the wind shredded all Nina’s remaining sails in that final storm,
all appeared lost. There would be no return to the

Court of Ferdinand and Isabella.
The ballast and rudder simply could not hold course keeping Nina from
the fatal shore rocks. And then, call it Providence or answered prayer, good
luck, fortune, or chance, salvation appeared. That single small sail was found,
stowed where no one had looked previously. Attached low on Nina’s bow,
the sail brought the Admiral of the Ocean Sea home safely.

Why was it there
and not previously used? Perhaps, Apollo 13’s perilous reentry answers
the question?

Indeed, the retro had chosen
rightly, believing the breeze would cease and that the weathermen were wrong
about the hurricane. But what about those gyros? Would they steer an accurate
course home? And had that final course correction been sufficient to place
Apollo 13 properly in the entry corridor?

The fiery entry of
NASA’s spaceships experience a phenomena known as “radio blackout”. The loss
of communication results from superheated atmospheric ions blocking radio
waves. Blackout’s end is predictable to the second. Yet, when Apollo 13’s
radio blackout should have lifted, there was silence. Five…ten…fifteen seconds
elapsed beyond that time on mission control’s clocks. Watching the displays
all wondered, “Had the gyros failed…did the mysterious breeze blow the crew off
course, had the craft descended too steeply being consumed by the fires of
reentry?”

Fiery reentry causes
added 31 seconds Radio “blackout”.

No, there was no
miraculous sail like that which guided Nina to safe harbor.
Nevertheless, at 31.5 seconds came a voice, “Houston, this is Apollo 13, we are
on the mains.” What happened in that silent half minute has not been
satisfactorily explained to this day. Perhaps, the best answer is, “The One
who brought Columbus safely home also acted in behalf of Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert
and Fred Haise, the crew of Apollo 13.